Hansi Flick’s future at Barcelona has been called into question, after reports claim that he has asked to leave the club.
Allegations about Jürgen Klopp’s talks with Barcelona have surfaced in light of the uncertainty surrounding Hansi Flick’s future at the Catalan giants. Flick led Barcelona to a league and cup championship (La Liga and Copa del Rey) last season, as well as guiding the Blaugrana to the semi-finals of the Champions League in his first season.
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However, now into his second year with Barcelona, according to ABC Futebol, Flick is “very tired” and has been telling staff since September that he wants to leave the club.
The report claims that he has not made such a request to sporting director Deco and president Joan Laporta, but has been frustrated by the players’ lack of focus – with particular emphasis on Lamine Yamal – as well as the lack of support he has received from his superiors.
There is no indication that Flick will be sacked immediately, but if he were to leave, his compatriot Klopp would likely be a potential candidate that Barcelona would consider.
Out of work since May 2024 when he left Liverpool, Klopp has been working as global head of football for Red Bull since Christmas.
Previously, Ralf Rangnick, former interim boss of Manchester United, has recommended the former Borussia Dortmund manager to Barcelona. According to the Austrian, he worked as a consultant back in 2021 and held meetings with Laporta and Rafael Yuste about their vision for the club going forward.
They wanted a coach who could handle a group of young players, and Rangnick mentioned both Klopp and Flick, who later ended up getting the job.
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“I told Laporta that if you want to work with young players, you have to trust them, let them play like young wolves,” he told SPORT.
“I mentioned Hansi Flick and maybe Klopp as well. Laporta must have remembered Flick, and that’s how he ended up with the job.”
A year earlier, Barcelona presidential candidate Jordi Farre claimed that he had held talks with Klopp about him becoming Barcelona’s next manager, despite the fact that Ronald Koeman had recently been appointed manager.
He told Diario Sport: “Of course we have our plan of action and we had already started several talks with Jürgen Klopp, because it seems to us that Barcelona need such a coach.”
Klopp has publicly stated that he would not coach another English team after the legacy he created with Liverpool, and during an appearance on the ‘Diary of a CEO’ podcast with Steven Bartlett, he said that he does not miss “standing in the rain for two and a half, three hours” in addition to other duties such as press conferences and being in the dressing room.
Barcelona are back in action on Wednesday night when they face Belgian club Club Brugge and are chasing a third win in this year’s Champions League season.
In the league, Barcelona are five points behind rivals Real Madrid after 11 games.
